Mashreq enmeshed

by Riad Al-Khouri April 1, 2010

written by Riad Al-Khouri April 1, 2010

The economy of the eastern Mediterranean went from being a unified whole under the Ottomans 100 years ago to increasing fragmentation in the Twentieth Century. This trend was especially apparent in 1950 when Lebanon and Syria broke off their customs union, and the latter proceeded to erect higher tariff barriers, eventually being emulated in this respect by Jordan, which also wanted to protect “infant” industries. This issue was highlighted — and remedies for it sought — in a workshop held last month in Beirut by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia and the World Bank on “Regional Cross-Border Trade Facilitation and Infrastructure for Mashreq Countries.” Addressing the event, Hedi Larbi, director of the World Bank’s Middle East department, noted that “trade exchange within the Arab world is very weak in comparison with other regions of the world,” amounting to only 13 percent, compared to 21

Riad Al-Khouri

Riad al Khouri is an economist specializing in the Middle East and North Africa region. He has undertaken extensive research on regional trade and political economy, among other topics, and writes widely about development issues. He taught economics at the American University in Beirut (AUB) and Beirut University College (now the Lebanese American University) and worked as a consultant for the European Commission, ESCWA, GTZ, ILO, IOM, OPEC Fund, UNDP, UNIDO, USAID, and the World Bank, among many other public sector organizations, as well as for numerous private firms.

Mashreq enmeshed

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